A Simpler Life 2018

Primrose

Nargleblast wrote: »

And what, may I ask, are you doing with my husband???:D

Oh don’t tell me he’s storing all his surplus stuff over in my house ! :rotfl:

Nargleblast

Our bedroom wardrobe has all his trousers in one half - and the spare room wardrobe houses all his shirts and coats. My entire clothing collection fits in the remaining half of our bedroom wardrobe.

AuntyCat

Wow, what a great thread. I've just read through 6 pages and have got some great ideas.

OH & I have tried for the last few years to live a simple life, but this last week or so has driven me mad and made me more determined to live more simply. I had to go into the city centre (We live in a small rural town) and the bags and bags of stuff that people were carrying around drove me crazy.

We haven't bought each other Christmas presents for years and have no kids. All our brothers agreed a few years ago not to swap bottles of random wine etc. As presents and the nieces and nephew all stopped at 16 (I am certain we are known as tight). We both have our mums so we exchange gifts with them as it makes them happy. But that's it!!
We usually look after mum on Christmas day, but this year we have booked a few days at the seaside on our own. Lots of walking, home made food and yes a few too many bottles of wine, but music, games and chatting. I suggested as it's a complete change for us that we spend £20 each on a few presents for each other or to share. Today after a few weeks of thinking about it we have decided not to bother as neither of us has thought of anything the other needs or wants.

Generally we are very frugal, cook from scratch, walk, garden and grow at our allotment, but I will follow this thread and try to think of other things I can do. There is still a lot of old clutter to get rid of.

Thanks OP for starting it off

System

I also reduce “white noise” to a minimum. The washing machine and dishwasher are used at night.......on the economy tariff of course.....the kitchen is far enough away from bedroom not to disturb me.

Being part of a church community for many years i sat in on many 'ladies meetings', taught many things about how to be a good wife/mother and how to keep the home running smoothly and pleasantly. Although a lot of it was just poppyc0ck, certain things stick and even now apart from emergencies, i still choose to keep white noise at a minimum when the family is at home.

lessonlearned

Judi wrote: »

Being part of a church community for many years i sat in on many 'ladies meetings', taught many things about how to be a good wife/mother and how to keep the home running smoothly and pleasantly. Although a lot of it was just poppyc0ck, certain things stick and even now apart from emergencies, i still choose to keep white noise at a minimum when the family is at home.

Yes I was taught this too, especially when you have children. It just makes for a more peaceful atmosphere. A washing machine on spin cycle can be very noisy and you end up having to shout over it to be heard.....:rotfl:

Kantankrus_Mare

AuntyCat wrote: »

Wow, what a great thread. I've just read through 6 pages and have got some great ideas.

OH & I have tried for the last few years to live a simple life, but this last week or so has driven me mad and made me more determined to live more simply. I had to go into the city centre (We live in a small rural town) and the bags and bags of stuff that people were carrying around drove me crazy.

We haven't bought each other Christmas presents for years and have no kids. All our brothers agreed a few years ago not to swap bottles of random wine etc. As presents and the nieces and nephew all stopped at 16 (I am certain we are known as tight). We both have our mums so we exchange gifts with them as it makes them happy. But that's it!!
We usually look after mum on Christmas day, but this year we have booked a few days at the seaside on our own. Lots of walking, home made food and yes a few too many bottles of wine, but music, games and chatting. I suggested as it's a complete change for us that we spend £20 each on a few presents for each other or to share. Today after a few weeks of thinking about it we have decided not to bother as neither of us has thought of anything the other needs or wants.

Generally we are very frugal, cook from scratch, walk, garden and grow at our allotment, but I will follow this thread and try to think of other things I can do. There is still a lot of old clutter to get rid of.

Thanks OP for starting it off

We have been whittling down Christmas presents for adults for years. I think Christmas is for young children and get more and more "bah humbug" each year.

I'm sure lots of people think we are tight as well but I'm getting to an age when I don't care. I would rather spend my money on doing things that we really enjoy like good food all year round and travelling.

Its the commercialism that really grates on me. Its all so predictable. You must have this sofa in time for christmas and you must buy x, y, and z to make your christmas perfect and look at what crap you can spend your hard earned cash on only to recieve another heap of crap in return.

Then....come January.......half of the crap is trundled off to a charity shop or sold on ebay. Half the country are struggling with debt problems....the other half weight problems or in the divorce courts. Then you get bombarded with holiday adverts and sale promotions.

And breathe.

Sorry for the rant.

Which brings me onto this thread. I'd love to tag along for the ride.

I hate waste, like to try and cook from scratch, have an allotment and generally like to live a simple life.

Im trying a new gym on Tues as they do more yoga classes than the one I am at, that fit in with my work hours.

I've got into yoga the past year and just love it!! Really focuses your mind on the important things in life and somehow this (for me anyway) goes hand in hand with a simpler life.

Sorry for the ramble and rant but a big thank you for the thread.
In general life.....I often feel like I am on my own with my views but it's nice to know I'm not. :j

System

Even with 5 kids at home it was easy to do, washer went on after the morning school run and would be finished and laundry dried by the time the kids came home.

However, in this day and age where women have to go to work to keep a roof over their heads, it would just be impossible to do.

Nonnadiluca

The number of posts on this thread in just a few days goes to show that there are a lot of people out there who have had enough of the rampant consumerism we are surrounded by, and want to tread a different path. Maybe we can start a revolution!
On a not so different subject, has anyone read Naomi Klein's new book, ' No is not enough'?

Pauper1

I've just read all this thread with interest as I am not living a simple life by these standards, but compared to others in my "real" life, I am!

We don't have Sky, we have second hand phones, our cars are really old, we buy at car boots and charity shops, we followed Kon Mari before we sold our house so drastically cut down on our "stuff" (although I need a second festival I'm starting to think!), I mostly cook from scratch. BUT, we have the TV on a lot, we partake in exchanging Christmas presents for everyone, we failed at growing veg this year, and I often have cravings to buy "nice stuff", so I will be subscribing in the hope that all your more simple ways will rub off on me.

I think once my uni assignment is out of the way I will re-do Kon Mari as a start.

[Deleted User]

I have a silent house for much of the day, I love being with my own thoughts and try and live in the moment. I am not afraid of thinking and of random thoughts. I do turn the tv on when I have my lunch and then listen to the archers but then again it is silence, until the evening, when the radio might come on or tv if there is anything appealing

My simple life today will involve a nice cycle ride along silent open sided lanes, just me and some swans and maybe a heron, nature